Obama wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize …

I gotta admit, this, I did not see coming. Nor, I believe, did much of anyone else, judging by the stunned reactions, both positive and negative, that can be witnessed everywhere else. But, it’s certainly true: American President Barack Obama has officially been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Personally, I have fairly mixed feelings regarding this, even despite the surprising aspect of it all (it really did come out of nowhere). To keep it simple, I believe it’s simply much, much too soon to award Obama with a Peace Nobel (or any Nobel, for that matter). While he has certainly done some great and wonderful things already – decriminalizing stem cell research and abortion rights, focusing on the environment, trying to overhaul America’s ailing healthcare system, etc. – the fact remains that these projects are still in progress. Nothing has really been accomplished yet, and I wasn’t aware one could receive the single most prestigious award in existence for what they plan to achieve, over their actual accomplishments. Obama still has a very long way to go.

However, on the other hand, he has accomplished something that, until early 2009, was largely thought to be impossible: he has turned America’s image and reputation around throughout the world. What had previously been one of the most hated countries in existence, has suddenly become appreciated, liked, and respected by most. He has prevented any number of potential wars, he has restored some of the government’s supposed efficiency (hey, I said some, not all), and most of all, he has given people the most important thing they can have in times of need: hope, and a reason to do so.

And all this, of course, in the face of those stubborn, jackass Republicans who do anything and everything in their power to smear him and his administration with false claims, bogus charges and generally being little more than raging monkeys flinging their scathing shit all over the place. They do all they can to prevent Obama and his government from establishing a new healthcare, they did all they could to prevent his Stimulus Package from going through, and they certainly do not plan to stop opposing everything he does, as though their programming is set to diametrically oppose anything their Commander-in-Chief attempts. It’s utterly pathetic.

Imagine all that Obama could accomplish without the dead weight that is the Republican side of the government, and America in general.

So, all in all: congratulations, Obama. I do think that this award will be deserved, at some point down the line, so I hope he keeps to the right path and finally fulfills more of those promises we’ve been tempted with, rather than following in Bush’s footsteps, and finally repeals Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the PATRIOT Act and State Secrets, and shuts down Guantanamo Bay once and for all. Such blights on the image of America – how any sane mind can either accept them, or just ignore them, is beyond me.

(And now, let’s sit back and spend the next few weeks, or months, even, regaling in the utter, over-the-top insanity, lunacy and hate that shall inevitably explode from the frothing mouths and popping eyes of the right-wingers. Hell, WorldNutDaily is already trying to have Obama impeached as a result of him winning the Nobel Peace Prize, so arguably, it’s only just begun.)

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